The 10 district councils of Greater Manchester have been negotiating with government in recent months over the creation of a new Greater Manchester authority which will bring new powers to the area. This new authority will be called a Combined Authority as it will be run by the 10 council leaders in Greater Manchester.
In addition to some powers and budgets being passed from central government, the Combined Authority will also take over the powers of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority. However, to house these powers a joint committee of the 10 authorities will be created called Transport for Greater Manchester. This will look quite similar to the existing transport authority but it will not be an independent body: instead, it will report to and work within the strategy developed by the new Combined Authority.
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has produced a consultation document outlining these changes and developments. In the document AGMA says: “The overriding objective of the AGMA authorities is to satisfy the Government’s requirement that a robust framework of governance is provided for the new City Region powers and functions, particularly in relation to transport.” From the consultation, AGMA wishes to know whether it is appropriate to create a new Combined Authority and a new joint committee for transport amongst other questions that relate to actual delivery.
The consultation closes on 15th February 2010.
To download City Region Governance: A consultation on future arrangements in Greater Manchester click on the attachment below.